Wowow wow wow wow. Last night we went to Masaya Volcano. It’s best to go there at night because you can see the hot lava much better in the dark!!! HOT LAVA IN THE DARK. It was even better than it sounds, and I thought it sounded great. Here is why I think Volcan Masaya is the best volcano in Nicaragua
Visit Volcan Masaya at Night
So, it’s a big deal to go to the volcano at night. Everybody wants to see the hot lava, and it’s easier to see and more dramatic in the dark. I may have mentioned that already, but it’s true!
Driving Volcano
The cars line up on the side of the highway before the park opens for the night at 5:30pm (but, since it’s “Nica time”, it actually didn’t open until more like 5:45pm). People are standing on the side of the road too; some are vendors, others are just passengers who don’t want to sit in the cars.
Worth Waiting For
Once the park is open, they start allowing in only 15 cars at a time. You wait at the entrance to pay: per person, not per car, and they check that you’re not undercounting your passengers; and then you wait a few more times. All in all, we probably waited an hour and fifteen minutes before we got to park and walk to the crater. But we had good company, as a friend of the owner of our hotel took us and we chatted with him and exchanged travel stories the entire time.
It was worth the wait! When we got to the final parking lot, we hopped out of the vehicle and there is a low wall around the crater which you can walk along and peer over into the depths of the fiery volcano below.
Worth a Return Trip
I am going to return because Volcan Masya is the best volcano in Nicaragua. Brian won’t want to miss this so we are going to go again, and it will again be worth the wait.
The lava was red hot, you could see it steaming, you could see it FLOWING! It was crazy and scary – that stuff is real and could explode at any time!
The photos don’t do it justice, but there is one where you can get the idea that this is a moving liquid. It’s intense. No filters on any of these photos either. These were the colors. Nature is so cool, and Volcan Masaya is the best volcano in Nicaragua. I have seen my share!
Have you been to any of Nicaragua’s volcanoes and do you have a favorite?
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Woooow! What an experience – I have never seen hot lava in my life and I can only imagine how spectacular and a bit scary it is seeing it in the darkness of the night. I am sure you had so much fun and I can definitely tell this is an experience worth going back for!
We have seen inactive volcanos on our travels. But the hot lava flows from the Masaya Volcano would be an amazing experience. Especially glowing in the dark. Definitely something to plan for given the limits on admission. Sure does look like it was worth the wait!
Oh my gosh! This looks like an amazing experience! I would love to do this. Its good to know that you pay per person, and the limits on 15 cars at a time.
What an awesome experience. My husband and I were able to see an active volcano erupting in Costa Rica a while ago. It no longer is and we feel so blessed to have seen it as I count it as one of my best travel experiences.